Improved brick machine



2 Sheets-Sheet 1. W. H. LOTZ 8v I'. BAUMANN.

BRICK AND GONCRETE PRESS.

Patented July 2s, 1867.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2. W. H. LOTZ 8v F. BAUMANN.. BRICK AND CONCRETE PRESS.

10.166,979. Patented July 2s, 1867.

m:anllmlulllanllllllllnnaalil @uitrit tatrs getint @Hirn ASSIGNORS T0 lWflIil-JIMA H. LOTZ d I Letters Patent No. 66,979, dated July 23, 1867.

IMPROVBD'BRIQK MACHINE.

"2tlg: .Stimuli rrfrrreh tu it ttm rttcrs ntmt mit milking part rf the samt.

TO ALL WHQM IT MAY CONCERN Be it` known that we, W. H. Lolznd F. B'AUMANN,'-of Chicago, in the county of Cook, and State of i Illinois, have inventedv certain new and useful 'improvements in Brick Machines; and we do hereby declare that thc following is a full, clear, land exactdescription thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a partof this specification, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, like letters indie' eating like parts wherever-they occur.

'lo enable others skilled in the art to construct and use our invention, we will proceed to desc'ribe it. i

Our invention consists in a novel construction of a machine for the manufacture of bricks, the invention consisting more especially of new devices or features inthose parts of the machine which press the clay to foi-rn the bricks, as hereinafter explained.

Figure 1 is a rear elevation.

Figure 2, a. longitudinal vertical section of the same, taken ontheeline z a: of`fig. 1,.

Figure 3 is a vertical section of the mould and follower, together with the toggle-joint, for operating the same, somewhat Inodied. Y y

Figure 4 is a vertical section of the grinding and screening apparatus, taken on the line yy of fig. 5; and

Figure' 5 is a. -vertical`section,vtaken on the line z z of g. 4l l l We construct a strong upright frame, A, of'anysuitables/ize and form, and in the upper part ot' it secure a heavy metal plate, B, in the centre of which are made 'oneor more rectangular openings, C, of proper size and form to operate as moulds in which to press the brick. Directly under these 'moulds C is placed a strong metal block, H,from the upper end of which projects a series of plunger-5,1, of suitable" size to correspond with the moulds C. Il his block H is arranged to slide vertically, andis operated bya toggle-joint lever, which will be hereinafter explained. Above the mould, and to the rear of it, is located a hopper,l D, into which the prepared clay is delivered by anendless apron, asc'epresented in'fig. 2. A slide, E', is arranged to slide trans4 versely under .the hopper D and over thetop of the 'plate B, in which the moulds are formed, there being an opening, E', in the slide, which becomes filled with the clay when under thevhoppervz and from which it' drops 'through into the mould C when the slidecomes over the latter. At its front endythi's slide is provided with a solid portion, F, of proper size to form a. cover to the mould C, asjshown'in fig. 2. '.Directly over the moulds, and just above the slide E, is placed an eccentric or cam, J, which rests against and is bedded in a solid metal block, J', secured firmly in place. This cam J is so arranged thatwhen the-'block F of the slideisover the mould, the cam will be rotated sufficiently 'to wedge the block F rmlypin position while the brick is being pressed, the cam being rotated in an opposite directiem-'to-release-the block F assoon as the .pressing is done, those movements of the cam being el`ected by means hereinafter explained.-

` Within the moulds aseries of pinsfe,`of any required number, is secured in a vertical position, theirV upper ends coming flush Withthe top-of the mould, their bodies extending down through holes in the plunger I, and bei'ngvsecured rigidly at theirlower ends to a cross-barra, as sho'svn in iig. 2, the interior of the block Hbeing hallowed ouf, to permit it to slide up anddown, to operate the plunger I without interfering with the pins e. The object of these pins is tofoim perforations in the bricks; but it is obvious tllat,ifl desired, the

pins may be omitted, and then the brick will be made solid, the plunger I of course'being left solid inthat case. l.

The plunger I, which first presses the brick in the mould, and :thep pushes the brick up out of the mould,

is operate'Lby-zidoi1blc toggle-levcrof peculiar construction. This lever consists of two arms, each having two legs, as shown in fig. 2. The legs G'and G', as they' are .brought into a vertical line, raise theyplunger, and thereby press the brick, the block then being in position 'over the mould and holding the playin. As soon as this is done the block F is remoredor drawn back, when the toggle-lever is pushedstill further over,

bringingt'he logs-Y and Y into contact,'and they bein'g longer than the legs G G', of course raise the plunger I still higher in the mould,ithereby pushing the briek'up. out of the mould, the siideE coming forward just at that time, and shoving the brick forward on the table C. A

For operating the toggle-lever, the slide, and the cam J, we locate in the lower portion of. the frame a shaft, K, on which is secured a wheel, R, which is operated by a driving-pinion, S, secured tou. shaft, I. On

the same shaft K are also secured two' large cams, V and T,Vas shown in fig. 2. To the lower arm of the togglelever a lever, N, is secured, which projects backward over shaft K, where it is provided with a friction-roller, P, against which the cams V and T rpress to operate the toggle-lever, the cam V first raising the arm N far enough to bring the legs Grand G in a vertical plane, by which the brick is pressed, the cam T then following and raising the arm N still further, and bringing the legs Y and Y into a vertical line, and thereby pushing the brick out of the mould.

To the rear end of the lever N is secured a vertical arm, U, which extends down behind the shaft K, and has its lower end resting on an eccentric, g, which is secured to a shaft, t, on which is awheel, m, operated vby a screw or worm, l, on a vertical rod, z', as shown in figs. 1 and 2. On the inside or front face of this arm U is a. small lug, n, and on the hub of the cam V is a similar projection, a. When the brick has been pressed, the legs G and G of the toggle-lever will stand vertically; and, owing to the great pressure on them, theyI will so remain unless moved; and just at this point the projection u. will come into contact with the lug n, and hooking on to it, will carry the arm U downward, thereby pulling the toggle-lever backward slightly, when its own` weight will carry it the balance of the distance.

As it is obvious that 4the capacity of the mould to receive the clay will regulate the quantity'which it will receive from the slide, and as this capacity is dependent on the distance to which lthe plunger 'I is withdrawn from the mould, it follows that by turning the eccentric g so as to let the arm U fall a greater or less distance, the distance that the plunger I will move or be withdrawn fromA the m`ould, and consequently the capacity of the mould and theV amount of clay deposited therein, may be regulated 'atwill by simply turning the rod v The motions to the slide E and Vthe cam J are imparted by means of levers operated vby cam-grooves on l .the faces of the wheel R. A rock-shaft, O, is. secured across the frame, just above the wheel R, and to this shaft are secured two arms i, which are pivcted at their upper ends to links connected to the slide E. Another arm, f, extends from said shaft O, and has a pin or wrist at its lower end, working in .a cam-groove erf, such form or configuration `as to impart to theA slide the threefold motions, as follows first, an entire forward mdvement7 for removing the brick raised out of the mould and charging the mould with fresh clay; then back fn; enough to bring the solid portion E over the mould, where it remains until the lbrick is pressed; then entirely back, 'under the hopper D, the form ofthis groove B* being shown in dotted lines in fig. 2.

To the cam J is secured a lever, c, which has a Weight, b, on it. To this level` c is'pivoted a vertical rod, d, to the lower end ofl which a friction-roll is se'curled on a wrist that travels in a cam-groove, A*, which is so arranged as to raise the lever c and rele-asel the -caui J at the instant that the pressing is finished and it is desired to remove the cover F, the groove-permitting the lever c to drop at the instant that it is desired vto close themould for pressing the brick. By'these means all the required movcmentsmf the various-parts are effected automatically at the proper times, and thus the process is rendered continuous. j

In fig. Sis shown a modiicatiouof the plunger and ltoggle-lever, the latter, in this case,lhaving three legs ro each arm, and thefaces c extending from? te @and from .r to o', forminga cam by which `the brick is pressed.

Instead of .the 'pins e a block, w, isv secured in the centre of the plunger Il, having its upper endV rounded 4 or bevelled. Thisblock w rests at'its lower end on a spring, k, so that if there is an excess of material in the mould when the pressing takes place, the block 'w will yield, and permit the excess to form a thicker wall above it, andthns prevent undue strain on the machine ,or mould. In this manne!` brick may be made hollow, or with cavities in them, thus being rendered lighter, using less material, beingeasier burned, and forming a wall filled with `air-spaces, and therefore dryer. This is more especially adapted to the forming of concrete brick, as it is well known that such material will not Abear compression equal to. clay, and is therefore much more likely to injure the machine.

To prepare the clay fo'r the press, we first grind it between two or more smooth iron rollers, as represented by W in lig. 4. The clay being thus pulverizedpthen falls upon a shaking-'riddle or screen, Z, which consistsa of a series of iron bars placed parallel with each other, as represented in cross-section in iig. 5, and mounted in a frame having one end pivcted to the frame of the grinding apparatus, as at o of fig. 4, .the opposite end being connected by a rod', b, at each corner, to a. bar, d', the opposite end of this latterbar-being pivoted to a standard on the frame, as at f' of lig..4, and resting on a cam-wheel attached to the outer end of one of the rolls W, as represented at u'of lig. 4. It will be seen that as the, rolls revolve the cam will impart` te the screen Z a vertical motion, similar to that of a flour-bolt, by which the vfine particles of clay willbe shaken through the screen andfall into the hopper underneath, where they will be taken bythe elevator and delivered to the hopper D, Yready to befed into the moulds hy the slide E. Any particles which are too coarse to paseA readily through the screen will roll oh' at the 'lower end, thel latter being more or.less inclined-lfm' that purpose` In using our machine it is intended to .use the clay as it is dug from the bank, the same being dried if toc wet to grind readily. If it be found too dry after it i5 ground and sifted, we propose to temper it by they use of steam, which we propose to inject among the clay in 'a finely divided state, so as to saturate the mass to any required extent before delivering it to the moulds for pressing. I

By these means we construct a machine that-is strong, simple, and durable, and that can be used for making clay or concrete brick, as may be desired.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim, is .y

1. A double toggle-lever, having'two or more sets of legs, arranged to come tintov operation successively, forthe purpose of first pressing the brick in the mould, and then removing the saine therefrom, substantially as described.

2. The slide E, fordelivering the clay to the moulds, and having attached to and moving with 1t a solid portion or metal block, F, to operate as a. cover to the mould during the operation of pressing the brick, subf stantially as set forth.

3. We claim the com J, when arranged to hold the cover of the mould while the brick is being pressed, substantially ns described.

4. We claim the stationary pins e, located in the mould, and having the plunger that' presses the brick slide on or around the pins, as and for the purpose set forth.

We alsoclaim the use of the supplementaryplunger w, resting on or supported by a. spring, and having the plunger I arranged to slide on or around it, for the purpose of accommodating itself to the quantity of material' in the mould, substantially as described.

' 6. We cla-im regulating the amount of material delivered to the mould by adjusting or limiting the lis-k tnnce that the pressing-block pr plunger is ivithdrnwn from the mould, substantially as described Y. We claim .the screen Z, arranged to operate in combination with the crushing-rolls W, nml having a. vertical motion imparted to it, substantially in the manner shown and-described. p

' WM. H. LOT'Z,

.FREDERICKl BAU-MANN.

Witnesses:

W. L. SclmAnEn, J ULIUs T. C. HOFFMANN, P. T. Dones, GEO. H. GBIEBE,

}to FR. BAUMANN,

}to w. H, Luiz... 

